AGENTS OF ZERO

WE DID IT AGAIN: RUNNING OUR VW ID4 EV OUT OF ELECTRICITY, JUST TO SEE WHAT HAPPENS

- ED LOH

Whose dumb idea was this? Intentionally running out of battery charge in another electric car? Well, mine, actually, but it’s all for you. After all, how do you face your fears? Square up and tackle them head-on. If range anxiety causes you sleepless nights, let’s just see what happens when you hit zero in a Volkswagen ID4.

Features editor Scott Evans was the first to execute a similar feat in a Rivian R1T (November), and I hoped my battery-draining journey would go much smoother. It would at least be cooler and more scenic, as I targeted my zero percent dead-end to be somewhere north of Malibu.

Roll Out

Our caravan, consisting of the 2022 VW ID4 and a traffic-cone-colored long-term Toyota Tundra with photographers and snacks on board, left MotorTrend HQ in El Segundo, California, around 11 a.m., with the VW’s 82-kWh battery showing 20 percent state of charge (SOC) and about 45 miles of driving range remaining.

Our intention was to hit zero near the Naval Air Station at Point Mugu on Pacific Coast Highway, about 56 miles away from our home base. From his photo-scouting knowledge, Deputy Director of photography William Walker determined the scenic Point Mugu Rock would be a good place to aim for because it offers a wide turnout, out of the way of traffic and easy for a tow truck to access.